Spotted on stage this weekend at the Queen’s Platinum Part at the Palace our composer of the month for June is LIN MANUEL-MIRANDA 

BORN: January 16th 1980

NATIONALITY: American

MUSICAL PERIOD: Contemporary

Miranda is an American actor, singer, rapper, composer, producer, and playwright.  Miranda embodies the dream of trying something new and not giving up. For example, many would scoff at the idea of mixing 250 year old politics and hip hop in 2009. But Miranda knew this character needed to have his story told and would not give up until he made it to Broadway.

POPULAR COMPOSITIONS: Hamilton – In the Heights – Disney’s Moana (several songs) – Encanto (all 8 songs)

EARLY LIFE

Miranda was born to parents of Puerto Rican origin, and grew up in a Hispanic neighbourhood in northern Manhattan, USA.    His father was a political consultant to several New York City mayors, and his mother was a psychologist. His childhood home was filled with the sounds of salsa and show tunes. Miranda saw his first  Broadway  musical, Les Misérables, at the age of seven, and it made a lasting impression on him. His tastes also ran to hip-hop and R&B, and he became a proficient rapper. In high school he won the lead role in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance and became a fixture in the school drama programme.  During that time he met Stephen Sondheim who later became a mentor to Miranda, along with fellow musical-theatre legend John Kander. Miranda studied theatre at Wesleyan University, where he continued to perform in musicals and to write his own songs and shows

CAREER

After graduating from college Miranda embarked on an acting career in New York City appearing in films and on television, including appearing in Sesame Street!

His first musical, In the Heights, was inspired by the Hispanic neighbourhood in upper Manhattan where he grew up. It blended hip-hop and salsa and starred Miranda in the lead role.

After reading a biography about Alexander Hamilton, Miranda created his next hit musical about the life of Hamilton, who rose from obscure origins on the small Caribbean Island of Nevis to become a leading US statesman and the first US Secretary of the Treasury. Miranda saw a quintessential American story, one that he perceived as akin to the humble beginnings of rappers. Hamilton opened on Broadway to rave reviews and featured a racially diverse cast, with Miranda again starring in the title role. In 2016, Hamilton was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and that year, received an unprecedented 16 Tony nominations. It eventually won 11 Tony’s, falling one short of the record. Hamilton was named best musical, and Miranda won for best book and best original score. In July 2016 he made his final appearance in the show.

While working on Hamilton, Miranda was also contributing to the soundtrack for the Disney animated film Moana, and he earned an Academy Award nomination for the song “How Far I’ll Go.” His connection to Disney doesn’t end there! He starred in the film Mary Poppins Returns as Jack and recently he wrote the story and music for Encanto.  He wrote all 8 songs for the film and its song we Don’t Talk About Bruno broke various records.

Miranda also starred in the TV series His Dark Materials. In 2021 he directed his first feature film, tick tick BOOM! (2021) an adaptation of a stage musical about a theatre composer with all music written by Jonathan Larson.

Just this weekend Miranda appeared on stage in London at the Queen’s Platinum Party at the palace concert on stage next to Andrew Lloyd Webber, introducing the Musical Theatre acts in the concert.  Miranda continues to push boundaries and try new things and we are looking forward to hearing what he does next!